Friday, July 18, 2008

East Boston

Hi, I'm Pat, and I lead the Harbor Explorers program in East Boston at Piers Park Sailing Center. We begin each day hauling up the lobster trap, which although may not always have a lobster, is always full of Green and Red Rock Crabs. We pass the crabs around to all twenty or so kids so that everyone can see them and tell whether they're male or female, based on the pattern on the bottom of their shells.

This week, in addition to crabbing with mussels and hot dogs for bait, we used our underwater camera. Some kids were very creative, and dropped the camera right next to one crab trap, planning to snatch up the trap at the first sign of a crab. Not only were they successful, but we also got a great view of some minnows chomping on the baited trap!

I'm also in charge of the Harbor explorers program at Constitution Beach in East Boston. Here, we work with kids from the East Boston YMCA to do walks up and down the beach, finding different shells and creatures stranded at low tide in the wrackline. It's also an incredible spot for finding steamer clams! On Tuesday, the kids put all their clams together at the end of the day and counted nearly 120!

Finally, I run the Harbor Explorers program at Winthrop beach Wednesday afternoons. There, we do wrackline rocks (where pieces of lobsters and enormous mussel shells are very common) and venture into the rocky tide pools to look for hermit crabs, green crabs, and the occasional sea worm.

For more information on the program, you should check out our Kids Page. Or, feel free to add your own stories from Piers Park, Constitution Beach, or Winthrop Beach in the comments!

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Welcome!

Save the Harbor/Save the Bayis a non-profit public-interest Boston Harbor environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, the Boston Harbor Islands, the Boston Harbor region's public beaches, Boston's waterfront and the marine environment and share them with the public, for everyone to enjoy.

Since 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay has been the driving force behind the transformation of Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest urban harbors in America to one of the cleanest in the world.

As a result of our advocacy, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a "Harbor of Shame" into a source of recreational, educational and economic opportunity and civic pride. Today the beaches of South Boston are among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, the Boston Harbor Islands are a National Park, and Boston's waterfront has become a compelling destination for residents and visitors alike.

Working with a broad base of civic, corporate, government, scientific, philanthropic and community partners, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay continues to strengthen the connections between communities and the harbor, and promote the increasingly important impact Boston Harbor has on the region’s economy.

Each year Save the Harbor / Save the Bay runs 2 freeYouth Environmental Education Programs that combine recreation and hands-on education to bring Boston Harbor alive for thousands of Boston area young people. Since 2003, we have connected nearly 250,000 youth and teens to Boston Harbor, the Boston Harbor Islands, our region's public beaches and Boston's waterfront.

Our "Boston Harbor Explorers" program serves thousands of young people at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, the Piers Park Sailing Center and Constitution Beach in East Boston, DCR's Carson Beach in South Boston, at Community Boating on the Charles River, on Black's Creek in Quincy, and at Camp Harbor View on Long Island and at The Boston Children's Museum.Our"All Access Boston Harbor"program departs weekdays from the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in South Boston, and brings thousands of youth and teens from more than 100 community groups to Georges or Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park on the Provincetown II.

OurBetter Beaches Program supports dozens of free events and activities on the region's public beaches each year in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

We hope we can count on you as we share Boston Harbor with 30,000 young people on 28 free island excursions and at 40 free events and programs on the region's public beaches in 2018.For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay please visit our website at www.savetheharbor.org